What does it mean to exist in complex relationships with machines? What insights can be offered to our understandings of these relationships by the theologically significant theme of ‘love’? What critical assessments can be made of our multiple uses of technologies in shaping our futures, by reflecting on our pasts?

Disquiet over the prevalence of social and economic individualism has a long history. In a world of mobile Capital and increasingly mobile people, communities of common tradition and locality appear to be under threat from the advent of a fragmented market society. Are these complaints against individualism justified? And crucially, how should Christians respond to them? Digging down into the substance of these questions, this project will consider the theological, liturgical and scriptural resources Christians have for understanding the notion of individualism in relation to issues of education, public life and the formation of democratic citizenship.

The conference and network meeting of the International Research Network on Religion and Democracy will focus on ‘state of emergency provisions’ and their religious and theological background. The key question is: What are the criteria to legitimately deviate from the normal state of affairs and to make an exception normative? A legitimate deviation from law or the existing order entails at least three elements:

a) The existing order is under threat and therefore swift action is needed;

b) Who is authorised to declare a state of emergency and what are the moral prerequisites?

In a situation when such deviation from the norm or existing law is required, ethical issues arise. Who is entitled to legitimately breach the existing norm/law, which civil rights might be suspended in order to successfully encounter the threat; and finally:

c) What defines the threat, which legitimises extraordinary measures?

In Constitutional Law and Political Theory the ‘state of emergency’ is a well-known paradox i.e. the concrete circumstance that demands a legitimate breach of an existing order to secure the existence of a lawful order. Given the classic criteria for a state of emergency, this project aims to uncover the theological basis, such as equity, asylum, grace and pardon etc. of the juridical concept of a state of emergency in all its facets.

This will be also the focus of the public lecture on Saturday May 16th 2015 "Can Religion replace the Constitution"?

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